How to restrict user access to specific subfolders within a file share folder with inherited permissions in Windows?

Question

Hello there,

I have an issue with user file permissions in a Windows environment. I need to allow a user named U1, who is a member of a specific group G1, to have access to only two subfolders within a folder named F1. The permissions for folder F1 are inherited by its subfolders, and I do not want to remove U1 from G1 as it could cause other access issues for U1 in other applications. Additionally, disabling the permission inheritance for folder F1 is not an option as it could result in future issues.

Can anyone suggest a solution for this scenario while keeping the other users' permissions intact? I am guessing that I would need to add U1 to the advanced permissions for the subfolders, but I would appreciate any guidance on the actual steps to take.

Thank you very much for your help.

Answer 1

Hello there,

To restrict user access to specific subfolders within a file share folder with inherited permissions in Windows, you can follow these steps:

Set up the Inherited Permissions: Make sure the file share folder has inherited permissions enabled. This means that the subfolders within the file share folder will inherit permissions from the parent folder by default.

Remove Inheritance for Specific Subfolders: Identify the subfolders that you want to restrict access to. Right-click on each subfolder, go to "Properties," and navigate to the "Security" tab.

Disable Inheritance: In the Security tab, click on the "Advanced" button. In the Advanced Security Settings window, uncheck the option "Include inheritable permissions from this object's parent" and select "Remove" when prompted to copy or remove inherited permissions.

Preserve or Remove Existing Inherited Permissions: In the "Advanced Security Settings" window, you'll have the option to either preserve or remove the existing inherited permissions. Choose the appropriate option based on your requirements.

Add Explicit Permissions: After disabling inheritance, you can add explicit permissions for specific users or groups who should have access to the subfolder. Click on the "Add" button in the "Advanced Security Settings" window and enter the user or group names. Assign the desired permissions (e.g., Full Control, Modify, Read, etc.) accordingly.

Repeat for other Subfolders: Repeat steps 2 to 5 for each subfolder you want to restrict access to. Customize the permissions as needed for each subfolder.

I used AI provided by ChatGPT to formulate part of this response. I have verified that the information is accurate before sharing it with you.

Hope this resolves your Query !!

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